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In the fall of 2004, an email conversation began on the Telephone Collectors International mailing list. Several folks who had restored older PBXes and CO switching systems had begun to wonder, now that Voice Over IP was beginning to be viable, if there was a way to connect their switches together via the Internet.

Someone mentioned the Asterisk VoIP PBX, and, with a little experimentation, the project took off, with several of the switchers creating Asterisk switches as tandems to their switches. A central switching scheme was established, office codes were assigned, and an automated method of looking up call routing was put in place. The Collectors’ Net , or C*NET, was born.

I just love the irony that VoIP and Asterisk are being used by these guys to expand and improve the hobby of antique phone equipment collecting. They are building a VoIP1 based overlay network2 …while the concept of where the public switched telephone network begins and ends is being re-invented.

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I write about how business people, technologists, and others can improve their results with technology and do their best work.

I also write about freelancing, self-employment, productivity, and entrepreneurship.

These are all topics deeply relevant to my day-to-day activities and directly tied to my expertise and experiences.

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For a list of all the ways technology has failed to improve the quality of life, please press three.

-- Alice Kahn

"Juggling so many things" is something I constantly struggle with, and I am often surprised just how few things I should do if I want to make great progress on anything.

About Me

I create and share solutions that help remarkable people (and the organizations they are a part of) improve their results and do their best work. I am the former CTO of an IT services provider. My career has been built around harnessing technology to achieve professional, personal, and organizational goals for myself and others. I now write, create, and consult full-time. I am married with one son. I love burritos & great beer. I am based on the beautiful California Central Coast.

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Like what you've seen?

As a first step, become a member of my private email list! I write about how business people and technologists can improve their results with technology and do their best work, along with sharing resources on leadership and productivity.